mhsaphuge3 - Types of Agriculture

Subsistence Agriculture

1. Shifting Cultivation

Land is cultivated temporary and then abandoned. 25% of the land is used and it is very labor intensive. It is more common in tropical climates and is declining worldwide.

2. Intensive Subsistance Agriculture

This type of agriculture uses small amounts of land in highly populated regions that have a lot of farming. It is very efficient using double cropping and terrace-farming.

3. Pastoralism-Sedentary & Nomadic

This is the breeding and herding of animals. The people who practice it exhibit transhumance which is traveling with the seasons. Pastoralism is usually on regions with not much land and on a smaller local scale. This is declining globally.

http://www.untotheleast.com/blog/uploaded_images/013006_%20b783-760459.jpg

Mediterranean Agriculture

This type of agriculture needs a great amount of land and occurs in warm regions, specifically around the Mediterranean, but also in similar climates such as California.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%B6ppen_climate_classification

Commercial Farming

This includes crops or livestock which are grown/raised for the purposes of feeding a large group of people. This type of farming is less depending on the season and is most common in Europe and the East Coast.

http://www.encycl opediaofalabama.org/face/Multimedia.jsp?id=m-5245
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/07/16/jeffmortenson/

Ranching

This involves raising animals on land such as cattle or sheep. It is usually in regions unable to grow crops. This type of farming is currently declining because ranches are being converted into slaughter houses for animals and commercial farming is taking over.

http://www.art.com/products/p13877539-sa-i2769868/ralph-crane-cowboys-on-the-king-ranch-move-santa-gertrudis-cattle-from-the-roundup-area-into-the-working-pens.htm

Dairying

Raising cattle to produce milk based products. Dairying farms are small and labor intensive. They are located closer to the marker to prevent spoiling and long distance of travel. Now we have modern refrigeration so it isn't necessary dairy farms are close to the market.

http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photography-dairy-farming-milking-a-cow-image19193452

Large-Scale Grain Production

This began taking place after the industrial revolution and is most common in Ukraine, the bread basket of Europe.

Plantation Farming

Cash Crop Farming usually in less developed countries which then export the crops. The plantation is usually owned by another country and the region farming doesn't make much money. It is necessary for plantations to have shoreline for exportation purposes.